Looks like that shiny new Trump Presidential Library and Hotel in downtown Miami may be shelved.
Historian, professor and activist Dr. Marvin Dunn filed a lawsuit this week to stop the transfer of prime downtown land next to the Freedom Tower — yes, that Freedom Tower, the one that symbolizes liberty and exile and means so much to so many Miamians — from Miami Dade College to the state.
The lawsuit says the college’s trustees broke Florida’s Sunshine Law when they quietly voted last month to deed over the property to the Florida Internal Improvement Trust Fund, which just so happens to be controlled by Gov. Ron DeSantis and his cabinet — the same folks who, surprise surprise, turned around and voted to gift that same land to Trump’s library foundation.
In other words, no open discussion, no transparency, no real public notice — just a “potential real estate transaction” that somehow turned into a high-rise shrine to the Orange One.
“We’re seeking an injunction against the transfer of the land to the state on the ground that the decision to give the land to the state was made in violation of the Government in the Sunshine Act,” said Dunn’s attorney, Richard Brodsky, a former state legislator who knows his way around Tallahassee’s shadows.
Read related: Miami Dade College gifts Donald Trump land for his library — and a hotel
Brodsky points out that Miami Dade College is still listed as the owner on the property appraiser’s website — which means, technically, the deal isn’t done. That gives a judge a window to block the transfer before the deed changes hands for good.

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Former Miami Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, who was suspended from office after his 2023 arrest on public corruption charges — including bribery and money laundering — that were later dropped, has a new campaign video for his mayoral bid that could easily be titled The Resurrection of ADLP.
The 30-second spot, which is expected to drop online before the weekend, opens not with Diaz de la Portilla himself but with a couple of loyal voters talking about how their guy was done dirty.
“They wanted to do to Alex the same thing they did to Trump,” says an older man with a blue tile wall behind him.
He’s talking about the arrest in September two years ago on 14 felonies that led to his suspension from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Diaz de la Portilla was accused of taking more than $250,000 in campaign contributions and hotel, food and booze costs from the owners of the Centner Academy in exchange for gifting them a city park they could build a sports dome on for their students. He has always maintained that he was targeted politically in his re-election year.
Another abuelita chimes in on the ad, solemnly: “El que no la debe, no la paga.” Literal translation: He who owes nothing, pays nothing. A better translation: If Alex didn’t do anything wrong, he shouldn’t have to pay any price.
Then come the receipts — or at least, the selective ones. The ad flashes images of Trump and news clips about prosecutors dropping charges against Diaz de la Portilla last year. The words like “victory” and “dismissed charges” are peppered in
Subtle? Not even close.
Read related: One-liners and other memorable moments from Miami mayoral debate
The message here is loud and clear: Alex Diaz de la Portilla is positioning himself as Miami’s own mini-Trump — the comeback kid persecuted by “the system,” wronged by the “deep state” of local politics, and finally vindicated by the “truth.” This is part campaign strategy and part redemption tour.
Never mind that the case didn’t exactly end in a sweeping acquittal. The charges were dropped, yes — but after prosecutors struggled to make the campaign finance case stick and a judge tossed out some of the counts. That’s not quite the same as being declared innocent. But in politics, nuance is for losers.
And Diaz de la Portilla knows the optics game better than most.
The video is full of feel-good B-roll: Alex shaking hands, dancing with a little old lady, hugging supporters, one of whom wears a red MAGA hat. There’s upbeat music.
It’s practically a Telemundo telenovela.
But, then again, we can expect one of the other 12 candidates and/or a political action committee to soon produce a video ad with the footage and audio of his arrest. That, too, could be award-winning.
Diaz de la Portilla’s video ad will likely run on social media, WhatsApp, and maybe even some local Spanish-language TV spots if he has enough money — and the same couple accused of bribing him in 2023 have already given $100,000 to his campaign, which paid for the ad, the first of six video ads he is releasing between now and Nov. 4, Diaz de la Portilla told Political Cortadito.
He wouldn’t say what those videos would be about. “No spoilers allowed,” he texted.
This first major message since Diaz de la Portilla jumped into the Miami mayoral race is a big tell. He’s not trying to reinvent himself. He’s doubling down on the narrative that’s always worked for him: that he’s a victim of political persecution who fights for “the little guy.” It’s red meat for his base — the same loyal network of older, conservative, mostly Cuban-American voters who’ve known him and his brothers, and voted for them, since Manny Diaz was mayor.
Read related: Primetime politics: Local 10 News puts Miami mayoral hopefuls in the hot seat
And invoking Trump isn’t just symbolic. It’s strategic. The MAGA crowd is loud and mobilized, and Diaz de la Portilla is clearly hoping that their sense of grievance — of being unfairly targeted — translates to sympathy and votes.
Okay, it’s true that the Broward State Attorney’s Office made a mess of the case against ADLP. But this campaign video isn’t about truth or justice. It’s about control of the narrative. It’s about rewriting the story before his opponents — and the voters — remember the details.
It’s political alchemy: turn scandal into martyrdom, turn suspension into “persecution,” and turn dismissal into divine vindication.
Expect to see this theme everywhere as election season heats up. He’ll talk about “forgiveness,” “false accusations,” and “faith in the system.” He’ll smile a lot and say he’s focused on “the future.”
But don’t be fooled — the message under the music is pure grievance politics: They came for me. But I’m still here.
And if it works — if it gets traction with the base — expect Alex to push even harder on the Trump parallel.
Because if there’s one thing Miami politics teaches us again and again, it’s that scandal doesn’t kill careers. It just gives the next campaign ad better footage.
The post Alex Diaz de la Portilla rides the Trump train to ‘vindication’ in new video ad appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Ladra could have told you this was coming.
Donald Trump has been salivating for years at the idea of hosting the world’s power players at his Doral playground, the golf resort he scooped up in bankruptcy and turned into his Miami-Dade monument to himself. He tried to stick the G7 there back in 2020 until COVID got in the way. He wasn’t about to let another shot slip by.
So now, in 2026, the G20 summit of world economic leaders will land in… wait for it… Doral. Not “Miami,” like Trump kept repeating last week– with Miami Mayor Francis Suarez beaming and falling all over himself to thank him at his side in the Oval Office — but Doral. You know, that suburb best known for traffic or arepas.
Trump said the Trump National Doral was perfect because of the weather and nearby airport and insisted that we, the people of “Miami,” wanted it. Pero claro, who wouldn’t want thousands of cops, Secret Service agents, motorcades, barricades and headaches right in time for Art Basel? Doralites already know what traffic looks like when there’s a junior golf tournament. Multiply that by a hundred, add a few heads of state, and you’ve got December gridlock.
But make no mistake: this is all about Trump finally pulling off what he couldn’t in his first term. He has always wanted his name in the backdrop of world leaders’ photo ops, his Crystal Ballroom on the evening news, his private cabanas whispered about in security briefings. He gets to say he brought the G20 to Miami-Dade — while really bringing it to the only piece of real estate that matters to him.
And Suarez? Ay, the mayor couldn’t thank him enough, practically calling Trump the savior of the hospitality industry. “I know you own many hospitality assets and properties,” Baby X said. Wink, nod.
Read related: Donald Trump’s Gold Visa puts the American Dream up for sale for $5M
Never mind that the city of Miami won’t be hosting squat. It’s Doral that will be on the map, as Doral Mayor Christi Fraga quickly reminded everyone, already polishing the welcome sign.
“Doral is ready to shine. From business to culture, we’ll showcase our city on the world stage,” Fraga posted on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Residents of Doralzuela, where thousands of Venezuelans have remade their lives after fleeing the dictatorship back home, might not be as enthusiastic. The same president who is now trying to deport more Venezuelans than ever — even those who had legal protections just five minutes ago — wants to showcase their adopted hometown as his shiny global stage. He’ll fill his resort with heads of state while ICE fills planes with families.
Trump swears he and his own family won’t profit from the decision. ¿De verdad? At a resort he owns? Where every suite, cocktail, and catered lunch gets rung up at Trump National Doral? Ladra will believe that when the Venezuelan cartelitos stop laundering money through Doral condos.
So sí, the world is coming to Doral. But don’t let the White House spin fool you. This isn’t about Miami’s “global city” moment.
It’s about Trump finally getting to show off his golf course to the planet — even if he has to snarl traffic, crash Art Basel, and make Miami look like a backdrop for his resort ad in the process.
The post Trump finally gets his G20 at Doral — porque nunca dejó de quererlo appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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Well, apparently, the “Trump Card” is not the hot-ticket item the salesmen in Mar-a-Lago would have you believe. Sure, the White House bragged that 70,000 people have “expressed interest” in this golden visa to the promised land — but expressing interest is not the same as writing a $5 million check.
One global investment migration firm told Newsweek last week that the real number will be less than 1,000 sales. That’s not even a soft opening in golden visa terms. Why? Maybe because this thing is laughably overpriced — five million bucks up front, and not even as an investment you can get back. It’s a straight-up donation to Uncle Sam’s cash register. That’s five times more than similar deals in Europe where you get a beach, a passport and a bottle of olive oil.
Because living in the U.S. is so much better than, say, Spain, right? Ladra knows several people who are getting their Spanish citizenship, you know, just in case.
Even the pros say that the Gold Card, announced by Donald Trump in a March speech to Congress, is basically a political vanity project with no legal legs. To make it work, the U.S. would have to rewrite the tax code — something a presidential signature alone can’t do. Congress would have to get involved, and Ladra will bet you her cafecito that this Congress can’t even agree on what day it is, much less a new tax category for billionaires on ski holidays.
As one lawyer put it, “I doubt the Trump Card will ever see the light of day.”
Read related: Miami-Dade leaders react to Donald Trump’s new ‘xenophobic’ travel ban
But that hasn’t stopped this transactional administration from selling it. You can “register your interest” right now at TrumpCard.gov — which is an actual official government website that has really zero information. Looks like a third grader design it. It is just basically a grab for a mailing list of rich people from abroad who might be able to help Trump stay in power. It’s laughable how bad it is.
Meanwhile, the old investor visa, the real investor visa — the EB-5 program — has been around since 1990, costs a fraction of the price, and comes with actual job creation requirements. It at least pretended to link the investment to job creation in underserved areas. The Trump Gold Card? Nada. No obligation to help communities, create jobs, or do anything beyond existing with money. If that $5 million goes into a hedge fund or a personal holding company, that’s perfectly fine under this scheme.
Trump’s crew wants to slap his name on a fast-pass for the super-rich that skips the hard parts.
And what couldn’t go wrong with this glitzy little shortcut to citizenship that’s being peddled like a VIP pass to America?
Ladra sees red flags waving like it’s a July 4th parade — except these are the kind that usually come with subpoenas, shell companies, and yachts docked in Dubai.
¿Qué puede salir mal? Everything. Everything can go wrong.:

Money laundering made easy. We’re talking about $5 million per head with no job creation requirement, no vetting for actual economic impact, and no real plan to track where the money goes. That’s not immigration policy — that’s a welcome mat for oligarchs, kleptocrats, and anyone who needs to wash a little dirty money through Uncle Sam’s spin cycle. Think Panama Papers but with a U.S. passport at the end.
National security? What’s that? While everyday visa applicants are getting grilled about their social media and travel history, this program could let people waltz in with a wire transfer and a smile. No one’s asking who they are, what their intentions are, or why they suddenly need to buy a green card. Bad actors — and not the Hollywood kind — would see this as a golden opportunity. Ladra would bet her last croqueta that there’s already a line of shady oligarchs, crypto bros, and tax dodgers getting their paperwork in order.
Accountability black hole. Who’s managing this thing? Who verifies the source of funds? Who ensures the money actually “stimulates” anything beyond luxury condos in Brickell or campaign donations in the shadows? If it’s anything like the EB-5 program — which already had serious fraud and abuse issues — then the Gold Card is EB-5 on steroids. And steroids with no regulation lead to bloated corruption.
Public opinion. You think Americans struggling to pay rent or drowning in student debt are going to be thrilled to watch billionaires buy citizenship like they’re ordering off a wine list? This kind of wealth-based immigration deepens inequality and undermines the entire concept of fairness in the system. Imagine telling a DREAMer they have to wait years in limbo while someone else cuts the line with a checkbook.
Golden gate for political influence. With this kind of cash flowing into the U.S., you’d better believe it won’t stop at real estate. These are the kind of “new Americans” who start PACs, fund candidates, and call senators by their first names at fundraisers. The Gold Card isn’t just a path to residency — it’s a golden key to the backrooms of political power.
Merit-based hypocrisy. Remember all the “merit-based immigration” talk? All that chest-puffing about wanting scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs? Turns out the only merit that matters here is what’s in your offshore account. This isn’t about national interest — it’s about selling the American dream to the highest bidder.

This isn’t immigration reform. It’s not even a policy. It’s a pay-to-stay country club membership that leaves the door wide open to abuse while slamming it shut on everyone else. It makes a mockery of the hard-won, paperwork-heavy, years-long journey that actual immigrants endure — all for the sake of a quick buck in the Treasury.
Read related: Campaign ramps up vs Miami’s Cuban, Republican congressional delegation
The Trump team says the money — that $5 million per wealthy applicant — could go to “help pay down the national debt.” But Ladra’s been around long enough to know what that really means: it disappears into the general fund like loose change in a couch full of lobbyists. One minute it’s earmarked for deficit reduction, the next it’s padding someone’s pet project or quietly covering cost overruns for some bloated defense contractor.
And let’s talk about that “potentially” helping with disaster relief or border security. That’s not a plan. That’s spin. “Potentially” is politician-speak for “we haven’t decided yet, and we hope you don’t ask too many questions.”
Let’s call this what it is: The Trump Gold Card isn’t a visa. It isn’t an immigration policy. It’s a velvet rope. And a scam.
The post Donald Trump’s Gold Visa puts the American Dream up for sale for $5M appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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President Donald Trump‘s travel ban on and restrictions on 19 countries includes Haiti, Cuba and Venezuela, which is going to impact this community more than most. It means that, as of Monday, the United States will suspend the issuance of most immigrant and non-immigrant visas for Cubans and Venezuelans, while fully banning entry from Haitians.
And local electeds are reacting with concern.
“Miami-Dade is home to the largest Haitian, Cuban and Venezuelan communities in the U.S., and I am deeply concerned by this decision which further divides us as Americans and harms hard-working families contributing to the essential fabric of the community,” Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
“We learned from past travel bans that the end result is families being divided and loved ones unable to see each other. The work of our federal government should be to protect our borders and pass comprehensive immigration reform, not tear down our communities.”
Trump writes in the order that:

“Cuba is a state sponsor of terrorism. The Government of Cuba does not cooperate or share sufficient law enforcement information with the United States. Cuba has historically refused to accept back its removable nationals.’
Venezuela “lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and it does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures.”
Haiti, has a 31% visitor visa overstay rate and mass migration from Haiti creates “acute risks of increased overstay rates, establishment of criminal networks, and other national security threats.”

There are some exemptions, according to the New York Times, including athletes competing in the FIFA World Cup matches next year. But nada on fans. Ladra is pretty sure the FIFA is going to pull out of the U.S and schedule those matches in Canada and Mexico, which are already co-hosting the tournament.
“I am deeply disheartened,” said Hatian-born Miami-Dade Commissioner Marleine Bastien, whose District includes one of the largest Haitian communities in the country. “This is not only a cruel and xenophobic policy proposal – it is a blatant attempt to scapegoat an already suffering people. This unjust policy will sow chaos in our communities, separating families, and disrupting lives.
Read related: Campaign ramps up vs Miami’s Cuban, Republican congressional delegation
“The Haitian Community has long been a cornerstone of Miami-Dade County, contributing to its culture, economy, and strength. Targeting Haiti in this manner is not just only discriminatory, but a betrayal of the values America claims to uphold – compassion, justice, and opportunity for all,” Bastien said in a statement Thursday, citing the hypocrisy in the administration’s policy.
“If Haiti is truly ‘unsafe,’ as President Trump now claims, then why did his administration terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals and cancel the CHNV (Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan) parole program for Haiti? The contradictions in his statements highlight the lack of genuine concern for the Haitian people and reveal a disturbing pattern of punitive, anti-immigrant policies targeting Black and Brown communities.”
Bastien also said that the U.S. bears some of the responsibility for the situation in Haiti.
“Let us be clear: the current crisis in Haiti is not occurring in a vacuum. Haiti’s instability is the direct result of decades of international interference, including the actions of successive U.S. administrations that have undermined Haitian democracy, supported illegitimate regimes, and crippled the country’s capacity for self-determination. Our Haitian brothers and sisters are now facing the consequences of policies and interventions that were never designed with their wellbeing in mind.
“Instead of banning Haitians, the United States must take responsibility for its role in creating the crisis and act with compassion, justice, and accountability. That starts with reinstating TPS and the CHNV program for Haiti, supporting Haitian-led solutions to restore security and democracy, and rejecting fear-based rhetoric that seeks to dehumanize our community.”
In Doral, Venezuelans, many of whom supported Donald Trump, gathered at El Arapazo — the same place where Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Sen. Rick Scott sought votes in 2014 blasting the Venezuelan government — to express outrage. Some are fearful that their work permits will be revoked. Others are upset that their family members won’t be able to visit.
Adelys Ferro, executive director of the Venezuelan American Caucus, told the Miami Herald that the ban targeted nations that are already struggling and immigrants, and their families, that are not white.
Read related: Maria Elvira Salazar takes credit for judge extending TPS for Venezuelans
“They didn’t even try to hide the racism, discrimination, and xenophobia when drawing up this list,” she said. “The countries affected are all places devastated by war, dictatorship, famine and death.”
On Instagram, she posted an avatar waving and asking “Where are my MAGA friends?”
They’re either applauding, Ms. Ferro, or they simply don’t care.
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The post Miami-Dade leaders react to Donald Trump’s new ‘xenophobic’ travel ban appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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… And Secretary of State Marco Rubio
A new non-profit that produced videos earlier this month critical of Congress Members Carlos Gimenez and Mario Diaz-Balart — calling them cowards for their silence and complicity in the detention and deportation of thousands of immigrants from our community — has ramped up its campaign with billboards in many of the neighborhoods they and other Cuban Americans in the Republican Party.
¡Ya tu sabes!
Keep Them Honest, Inc. a “nonpartisan public information organization,” announced on Monday the launch of a “paid advertising initiative aimed at exposing the cruelty and complicity of South Florida’s top Cuban-American Republican officials as immigrant families face unprecedented threats under the Trump administration’s inhumane and un-American executive orders.”
The multi-platform rollout — billboards, digital advertising, commercials and targeted social media messaging — the campaign specifically calls out Gimenez, Diaz-Balart, Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a former Florida House rep and U.S. Senator, for failing to represent the very communities that elected them.
They haven’t even raised their voices for Cuban mother Heidy Sanchez, who is in Havana today, having been separated from her U.S.-born husband and 1-year-old daughter in Tampa and deported.
Read related: Video blasts U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez for silence on ending TPS, deportations
“The Secretary of State and these Members of Congress are the children of immigrants and represent Miami-Dade County, but their cowardice and silence has created fear throughout the community and this initiative calls upon them to speak up and take action on behalf of their constituents whom they have thus far betrayed with their silence and inaction,” reads a statement from the organization.
Earlier this month, Keep Them Honest posted their first video, calling Gimenez a coward who has betrayed his community, not just for staying silent on the revocation of Temporary Protective Status and parole protections for over 500,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans, but also on the defunding of Radio and TV Martí. They later followed up with a similar video targeting Diaz-Balart.
“Mario? Bro? Wake up,” it says.
They are now placing billboards — like the one that the  Miami-Dade Democratic Hispanic Caucus has on the Palmetto Expressway between Doral and Hialeah — across every major highway in the county and web app in the districts that Diaz-Balart, Gimenez and Salazar represent.
“These ads spotlight the urgent need for these elected officials to speak up for human decency and take action for the people of South Florida,” the statement said.
Seven total billboards will be purchased on the Palmetto, the Don Shula Expressway, and the Florida Turnpike, said Chris Wills, the former co-founder of Cubanos Con Biden and vice president of  Keep Them Honest, Inc.
“No matter where you go in Miami-Dade County, whether you are one of these congress members or one of their constituents, you will see the message loud and clear,” Wills says. One of the digital ads says “Deporting good immigrants back to dictatorships is cruel.”
The photos chosen of the “Gang of Four,” as the Hispanic Caucus President Abel S. Delgado calls them, are not flattering.

Keep Them Honest is a 501(c)4 non-profit and does not have to disclose who is funding this campaign.
Read related: Cuban American congress members stay silent on TPS, immigrant detention
There are Trumpistas in South Florida who hysterically accuse the group of being funded by foreign enemies. “For all we know it’s Diaz-Canel people or the Chinese,” posted one of the crazy right-wing fans of Political Cortadito, referring to Cuban President (read: Dictator) Mario Diaz-Canel. She also said that Gimenez “doesn’t need to acknowledge provocateurs.”
This is what the Trumpistas think of anyone who disagrees with them. They are “provocateurs” that need not be acknowledged. Sound familiar? That’s exactly what Diaz-Canel says.
The most likely source of funding is some rich and outraged Cuban-American, like healthcare mogul, philanthropist and serial campaign contributor Mike Fernandez, who wrote an “open letter” to the Cuban-American politicos earlier this month calling their silence “complicity and cowardice.” Or someone like him.
“We don’t disclose our donors,” said Wills, a former Republican who is listed as the non-profit’s Vice President in the Florida Division of Corporation records. The president is Juan Carlos “JC” Planas, a former Republican state rep who later switched parties and ran for Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections last year, losing to Alina Garcia.
“As a former Republican who helped elect Republicans and JC Planas being a former Republican legislator, it would be a hard press to tie us to any communist organization,” Wills said, adding that they are getting checks “from people who agree with us, which is growing more and more by the hour.”
It’s apparently enough, he said, to make an “unprecedented” media buy in a year with no state or national elections.
“We’ve never had, especially in a non-election year, this level of investment into ensuring that the voice of the community that needs to be heard is heard,” Wills is quoted as saying in Florida Politics.
Planas, who is tasked with the organization’s legal compliance, said that the non-profit operates much like conservative non-profit Citizens United and others who have the right, protected by the Supreme Court. They have a CPA. They report to the IRS. Their bank would issue a red flag for any foreign deposits or checks.
“How do we know Citizens United wasn’t funded by the Russians,” Planas asked. “Because there are checks and balances.”
Well, so far. But that’s something that is also being attacked by the Trump administration — as the Gang of Four stand by.
The post Campaign ramps up vs Miami’s Cuban, Republican congressional delegation appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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